Dozens of Israeli settlers have set fire to homes and cars in a village in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, killing at least one person.
Settlers – some wearing masks – threw stones and petrol bombs as they attacked the village of Jit, near the town of Nablus, on Thursday evening, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said a local villager in his 20s was killed and another suffered serious chest injuries. The IDF said it was looking into the death report.
Israeli political leaders condemned the attack, pledging to punish the perpetrators. An Israeli citizen was arrested in Jit, the IDF said.
Several videos appeared on social media showing houses and vehicles being set on fire in Jit late on Thursday night.
Columns of smoke rose high above the village.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “those responsible for any criminal acts will be arrested and prosecuted.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote in a post on X: “This is an extremist minority that harms the law-abiding settler community and the entire settlement, as well as Israel’s name and standing in the world at this particularly sensitive and difficult time.
Mr Herzog added that “law enforcement officials must act immediately” to bring those responsible to justice.
In a statement, the IDF said its forces were deployed to the village “within minutes” of receiving reports of violence, firing into the air to disperse the crowd. The attackers were later removed from Jit.
The IDF added that a joint investigation was being conducted by its forces, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency and the Israeli police following the “serious incident.”
The US said attacks by settlers were “unacceptable and must stop”.
“The Israeli government must take steps to protect all communities from harm, including intervening to stop the violence and holding all perpetrators accountable,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said.
Palestinians regularly accuse Israeli security forces of allowing violent settler groups to attack their villages.
According to OCHA – United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs – There have been more than 1,000 settler attacks against Palestinians since October, with at least 1,390 people – including 660 children – displaced.
Lethal violence often accompanies attacks. OCHA recorded 107 incidents resulting in deaths and injuries to Palestinians, and 859 incidents of damage to Palestinian property.
International attention is focused on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip – but the scale of settler violence has prompted the US, EU and UK to impose sanctions on some settler leaders and, for the first time, on entire settler outposts.
